The Philadelphia Flyers are heavily scouting the Avalanche, for a possible Claude Giroux deal

The NHL trade deadline is still more than five full weeks away. But that doesn’t mean teams aren’t heavily scouting right now, looking at all the pieces they might want to acquire from other teams, either at the NHL or minor-pro level. Such is the case with the Philadelphia Flyers regarding the Avalanche right now.

I’m not going to reveal the people by name from the Flyers who have been watching Avalanche organizational activities a lot these last couple of days. I don’t mind naming the teams who are scouting at Avs games, but I draw the line at giving the actual names of the personnel involved. That doesn’t mean I won’t hint around some; A high-ranking member of the Flyers organization took in the Avs-Lightning game last night, and took in the Colorado Eagles game tonight in Loveland, too.

I think we can safely say it at this point: the Avs have interest in Claude Giroux as a deadline pickup, and the Flyers are looking over the Avs and some of their top prospects for a possible deal.

That word “possible” goes both ways. It might be possible, and it might prove not possible, to make a deal with the Flyers for their best player of the last 12 years.

(Did I mention to you, that I LOVE the trade deadline? Ever since I was a little kid, poring over the Boston Globe for any clues as to what my teams would do for trades, I’ve loved all things trade/rumor/hot stove/gossip/outright lies. I love trades. I still remember my Topps “Traded” card series that included the 1976 trade of Ferguson Jenkins to the Red Sox from the Texas Rangers, with the headline “Fergie Brings Fastball to Fenway.” When I was a kid, they were called “trading cards” for a reason. That’s all we did, was make half-baked trades involving our cards, believing we’d just pulled off a coup).

The Flyers, it’s clear, are doing their due diligence on any potential deal with the Avs involving Giroux. As well they should. He’s a beloved member of the organization, even though he, like every Flyer that has pulled the logo over their head, has failed to win a Stanley Cup for… 47 years now.

For nearly half a century, the Philadelphia Flyers have failed to win a Stanley Cup. That’s not just the ex-Bruins-fanatic in me saying that. It’s the Wikipedia page of the club too. (I’m loving this. My aunt, uncle and cousins are all from the Philly area and die-hards of every team, going back to the early 1970s, and we’ve trash-talked since).

The Flyers are grounded for the rest of this season, way out of a playoff spot, and looking to sell at the deadline.

This is where the Avs have to be really, really careful. I’m going to dive more into this on Sunday with a podcast with longtime Flyers beat writer Sam Carchidi, who has covered Giroux every year of his career. If I’m Joe Sakic, though, I do NOT do some big exchange with the Flyers, where I give them three good assets in favor of a 34-year-old guy who has more yesterdays than tomorrows to his NHL career by now.

Claude Giroux is a nice player, but I don’t think he’s a “three asset” guy. The Flyers no doubt are taking good looks at players such as Tyson Jost and/or J.T. Compher, but want to get good, hard looks at prospects such as Sampo Ranta and Justin Barron.

The Avs would have to give up someone that would make the hardcore fan flinch. Otherwise, there won’t be any deal. The Flyers won’t give Claude Giroux away.

It’s going to come down to who, in the organization flywheel, the Avs think they can part with and not pay some horrible price down the road. There’s a lot to like about prospects such as Ranta and Barron. But maybe, just maybe, they might prove worthy sacrifices to win a Stanley Cup.

That’s the goal of Joe Sakic this spring/summer, by the way. He knows he has a great team on his hands, but one that might need one more big talent to get it over the top. With the Vegas Golden Knights expected to get Jack Eichel back to their lineup next week, Sakic might feel pressure to keep up with the Joneses here – or, in this case, the Eichels.

It’s going to make for a fascinating final few weeks until the NHL trade deadline.